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Figurehead
.]] A '''figurehead' was a carved wooden decoration found at the prow of ships. Mariners were a superstitious bunch, and they believed that a woman on board a ship would always bring bad luck. They made one exception: wooden women were allowed, but only if they were nailed to the bow as a figurehead. History .]] Although earlier ships had often had some form of bow ornamentation (e.g. the Viking ships of ca. A.D. 800–1100), the general practice was introduced with the galleons of the 16th century, as the figurehead as such could not come to be until ships had an actual head structure on which to place it. Like all mariners, pirates were a superstitious bunch, and they believed that women on board a ship would always bring bad luck. They made one exception: wooden women were allowed, but only if they were nailed to the bow as a figurehead. Mariners believed the eyes of the figurehead would help their ship to find its way at sea.Pirates of the Caribbean: The Complete Visual Guide, p.28-29 "Black Pearl" Pirate ships of the 18th century were known to have colorful figureheads. The ''Black Pearl's figurehead shows a beautiful woman, a graceful black angelThe Price of Freedom, with an outstretched left arm and a bird, a black dove''The Price of Freedom, about to take flight from her hand; this symbolized Jack's goal for freedom. Other notable figureheads include the ''Misty Lady (a mermaid), the Flying Dutchman (the Grim Reaper)Pirates of the Caribbean: The Complete Visual Guide, p64-65: "The Flying Dutchman", and the Queen Anne's Revenge (a demonic skeleton holding a spear and a goblet).The Art of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides The largest warships of the British Royal Navy carried the figureheads that proclaimed their allegiance to the Crown of England and the British monarchy. The figurehead of the [[HMS Dauntless|HMS Dauntless]] showed a lion and a unicorn, the symbols of England and Scotland, holding together the Royal coat of arms of Great Britain.Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Lord Cutler Beckett's flagship, the [[HMS Endeavour|HMS Endeavour]], had a similar figurehead with the two animals holding a red shield with three identical gold lions, the Royal Arms of England.Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End The Spanish Royal Navy galleon Silent Mary had the figurehead of a woman holding a spear and a shield. After decades of imprisonment in the haunted waters of the Devil's Triangle the ship and its crew returned to the Seven Seas as ghostly specters, with the ship becoming a living tool of Capitán Salazar's vengeance against the pirates in the Caribbean. When the Mary attacked the Black Pearl, Salazar used his supernatural powers to bring his ship's figurehead to life, using the wooden beast to hunt Captain Jack Sparrow.Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales Behind the scenes .]] *The figurehead on the Queen Anne's Revenge was based on Blackbeard's historical pirate flag, which had a great horned skeleton holding a goblet of wine in one hand and a spear in the other. However, in real-world history, Blackbeard never had such a figurehead aboard the Revenge. *One of the quests in Pirates of the Caribbean Online requires a player to recover the figurehead of the Black Harbinger. *The instruction booklet for the Lego Silent Mary set mistakenly calls the Silent Mary's figurehead "Silent Mary Masthead". The masthead is the uppermost point of a mast. Appearances *''Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure'' *''Pirates of the Caribbean: Jack Sparrow'' *''The Price of Freedom'' *''Pirates of the Caribbean: Legends of the Brethren Court'' *''Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned'' *''Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl'' *''The Sails of Doom!'' *''The Black Heart of the Pearl'' *''Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest'' *''Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End'' *''Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (video game)'' *''Pirates of the Caribbean: Tides of War'' *''Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides'' *''The Brightest Star in the North: The Adventures of Carina Smyth'' *''Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales'' **''Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales: Movie Graphic Novel'' *''LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game'' *''Fantasmic!'' Sources *''Pirates of the Caribbean (film series)'' *''Pirates of the Caribbean: The Visual Guide'' *''Pirates of the Caribbean: The Complete Visual Guide'' *''The Art of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides'' Notes and references Category:Objects